Groovy Christmases Past: 1980 PLUS! Groove's Christmas PRESENT(s)!

Merrrrrrrrry Christmaaaaas, Groove-ophiles! Happy Holidays, happy Monday, just happy day! It's Christmas Day, and Ol' Groove knows that most of ya wanna spend time with the family (and your new presents if you weren't too naughty this year), so I'm gonna try to keep this post kinda short. Christmas 1980. The end of the Groovy Age. Teen Groove found lots of good stuff that December, although I didn't have as much money to spend on comics as I had in the past. Wonder why? (Cough, cough--GIRLS--cough!) And, it's not a sad time, even though we were saying goodbye to our beloved Groovy Age. Why? Well, if you were like me, I didn't realize it was the end of the Groovy Age, for one thing. For another, the 1980s turned out to be pretty (dare I say it? I dare!) awesome!! Check out these classics, baby. And for the record, the last comic Teen Groove bought during the Groovy age? Spider-Woman #37!

 Another biggie on Ol' Groove's "greatest comics ever" list! Wow! Even The Shadow's creator Walter Gibson got into this one! (Oh, and this is another one I found on the way to Grandma's house! Man, I'm glad we visited her for Christmas!)

 Why didn't this mag last longer? Great sci-fi short shockers in every ish!

 The end of Roger Stern and John Byrne's magnificent run.

 Frank Miller in total control (and Bullseye's not)!

 Both Gene Colan and Howard Chaykin provide art for this ish!

Hey, War Machine fans--it's Rhodey's origin!

 Came out December 2...

 Came out December 30!

 John Byrne's last ish!

 Marv Wolfman and George Perez were making DC Marvel-ous (though Curt Swan drew this ish)!

Annnd, in case you're wondering (and even if you're not--sorry!), here's what Ol' Groove found under his tree this year...

Yep, I think I was good! When I was a kid I dreamed of my favorite comics being bound into book form. Dreams do come true! Oh, but it's not all tpbs...

Merry Christmas, Groove-ophiles! We're gonna go into "reprint" or "rerun", if you prefer, mode for the rest of the week. Hope you enjoy the upcoming Groovy Posts of Christmas Past! Happy ho, ho, ho to y'all!

Groovy Christmases Past: 1979

Merry Christmas, Groove-ophiles! Before we take the weekend off for our happy holiday, let's ease on back to 1979 and take a look at the comics that Teen Groove bought in the month of December. There's more "okay" stuff than great stuff on this list, but the great stuff is really, really great (looking at you Batman 321, DC Super Star Holiday Special, X-Men 131, and Daredevil 163). My sister, Electro-Woman (long story, ask me later) got me a bunch of these for Christmas--so yeah, for the Christmas of 1979, I literally unwrapped a stack of very cool comics! Thanks, Sis!

 Another awesome Adventure Comics era! Staton on Plastic Man, Ditko on Starman!

 Len Wein, Walt Simonson, and Dick Giordano. Batman vs. Joker. Garcia-Lopez cover. Merry Christmas, for sure! (Oh, and Teen Groove bought this'un at the Piggly Wiggly in Rose Hill, Virgina on the way--are you ready for this?--to Grandma's house!)

Frank Miller's first Batman story is only one of the in-freakin'-credible things you can find in this astounding Holiday Special!

 The Silver Age is still hanging on at DC!

The first issue of Bill Mantlo's staggering six year(ish) run as Ol' Greenskin's writer. (Thanks to Groove-ophile Ron H.  for the reminder!)

 One of the best Marvel Preview issues ever--and it's all reprints! Genius!!

 Yep, this is one of 'em Sis got me for Christmas. I let her read it first. I know, I'm a sweetheart.

 Doug Moench, Mike Zeck, and Gene Day's best story arc.

 Everyone remembers Frank Miller's incredible art (inked, all but 2 pages, by Joe Rubinstein), but writer Roger McKenzie deserves a truckload of kudos for the script on this spectacular ish.

Have a great weekend and Christmas Eve, Groove-ophiles! See you back here on Christmas day for (you guessed it) December 1980! And, we'll answer the soul-stirring question--"What did Ol' Groove get for Christmas this year?"